Marrying in Turkey - Part 2 - Nüfus paperwork
Marrying in Turkey - Part 2 - Nüfus paperwork
Following on from part 1 of our brief guide to marrying in Turkey, this time we look at getting the appropriate paperwork from the Registry office in Turkey.
First we were told to meet with the Nüfus Müdürü (Head of the Registry Office), who can be found on the first floor of the municipality building in Bodrum (map). I had to take the Certificates of no Impediment (from the consulate - see part 1 of the guide), a photocopy of my passport, a photocopy of the last visa entry in my passport, and 5 passport photos. He entered all the information onto the computer and asked when and where we would like to be married, so he could put this into his calendar. The Nüfus Müdürü then gave us 3 forms to take, and said we needed to get blood tests done, then see a doctor (he gave us his name and said it had to be him) at the Sağlık Ocağı in Bodrum (No.1) ("Bodrum 1 Nolu Merkez Sağlık Ocağı") (map), and get the doctor to sign the forms before returning to him. Getting the blood tests done should have been the easy part - or so we thought! Someone told us we could have the tests done at the Özel Bodrum Hastanesi, or at a local health clinic. However this was not the case and in the end we had to go to the Devlet (State) Hospital. We encountered several problems along our way but essentially the process is as below. It's also worth noting the the procedure at the Devlet should be done on a Monday or Tuesday (see below).
- Upon entering the hospital you need to go to the desk on your right where you will be asked for your ID, your fathers' name, and what you are there for. We were then given a scrap of paper with some numbers on it and were sent to the payment desk.
- Go into the hospital and about 30m on your right is the payment (Vezne) desk. Here we paid 15.50TL each for "muayene ve rapor" (examination & report). We were given receipts for this and then sent to the Enfeksiyon doctor
- The Enfeksiyon doctor is opposite the payment desk (turn around and head back to the entrance - it's on your right). His secretary appeared to enter our details on the computer, gave us another scrap piece of paper with more numbers and our names on. We were then sent back to the payment desk.
- At the payment desk we paid another 26TL each (for "labaratuvar" the blood tests), and received another receipt each.
- Now to find the "labaratuvar" for the blood test. From the payment desk, turn left, then take the first corridor on the right. Go past the lifts, then the "labaratuvar" is on your left. We waited in a "queue" at the desk for a while then handed over our piece of paper from the doctor's secretary, and in return were given 3 stickers each which had our names on (to be stuck on the tubes of blood for identification).
- Next, we walked into the room to the right and our blood was swiftly taken, and we were told to return the following day after 2.30pm to collect the results.
- So, the next day we returned to the lab and collected our blood test reports at the "labaratuvar" desk.
- Now you have to go back to Enfeksiyon doctor (near the front door), here the doctor will sign and stamp the report.
- Once they had been signed, it's back to the "labaratuvar" to collect a tube of blood each which was to be taken to the doctor at the Sağlık Ocağı No.1 in Bodrum. Don't take too long though - the blood will go off!
We learnt several things along the way that would have made life easier had we known beforehand, for example, the blood tests for marriage are only usually carried out on Mondays & Tuesdays at the Devlet - ours was done on a Wednesday. So we could not collect our tube of blood to take to the clinic because there would not be enough time for it to be tested before it became useless. Also, the original Enfeksiyon doctor was not at the hospital on a Thursday or Friday, so we had to find another doctor to stamp and sign our blood reports!
Anyway, the next stage of the process was to see the doctor at the Sağlık Ocağı, taking the signed blood reports, and the three forms given to us by the Nüfus Müdürü. The reports were checked and the forms were signed and stamped by the doctor, and we were charged a fee of 9.50TL each for this.
Finally it was back to the Belediye building to see the Nüfus Müdürü again and give him back the three forms signed and stamped. We also reconfirmed the date, time and location of our wedding!
Apparently for now that is everything! On the day the Nüfus Müdürü will come along and conduct the wedding (for a fee of course), and I am sure there will be some more paperwork to be signed and stamped!